Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #112486

Daniel Gentry, PhD, MHA¹, Darcell P. Scharff, PhD², Tonie Covelli, MPH³, Eric Armbrecht⁴, Kira McKinney, MPH⁵, and Rob Fruend, MBA⁵. (1) Associate Professor of Health Administration and Policy, Saint Louis University School of Public Health, Center for HIV/STD Policy Studies, 3545 Lafayette Ave., Salus Ctr. Ste. 300, St. Louis, MO 63104, (314) 977-8152, dgentry@slu.edu, (2) School of Public Health, Saint Louis University, The Salus Center, 3545 Lafayette Avenue Suite 300, St. Louis, MO 63104, (3) InnEval, LLC, 3525 Watson, St. Louis, MO 63139, (4) InnEval LLC, 3525 Watson, St. Louis, MO 63139, (5) Assistant Director of Strategic Planning, St. Louis Regional Health Commission, 1113 Mississippi, St. Louis, MO 63104

The St. Louis Regional Health Commission was established in 2001 to improve the health care delivery system for people who are medically underserved. The Commission's goals are to improve access and delivery of health services, reduce disparities and improve health outcomes. To inform its work, the Commission requested the assistance of a local research firm that partnered with the School of Public Health to examine the breadth and depth of prevention services available to the community. Emphasis was placed on ten focus areas that account for the majority of morbidity in the region: asthma, tobacco use, breast cancer, prostate cancer, HIV/AIDS/STDs, lead poisoning, maternal and child health, obesity, cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes. Along with public health departments, community-based organizations, community health clinics and churches, schools were identified as an important source of prevention services. All primary and secondary schools in the zip codes of high need (based on disparities in morbidity) in St. Louis City and County were included in the sample. Sixty-five of 117 (56%) schools provided information for the assessment. While the presentation includes the approach and methods used, emphasis is placed on findings. These findings include: 1) school nurses are common, but health advisory groups are rare, 2) approximately one-third of schools have health teachers, 3) asthma leads the list of focus areas addressed by schools, 4) prevention services in schools change as children grow up, and 5) schools are a significant referral source for preventive health services.

Learning Objectives: By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to

• Identify 5 major causes of morbidity among school aged children
• Briefly describe the approach and methods used to conduct this community health assessment in schools
• Identify the 4 most common focus areas (disease threats addressed) for the schools in this particular sample
• Be able to describe a possible shift in emphasis for school-based prevention as children age, as demonstrated by the results of this particular assessment

Keywords: School Health, Prevention

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation